The effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials

•Analgesic effect of hypnosis examined in 85 experimental pain trials.•Effectiveness was dependent upon hypnotic suggestibility and use of analgesic imagery.•Hypnosis produced 42% & 29% pain reduction in high & medium suggestibles respectively.•Minimal benefits found for low suggestibles. The current meta-analysis aimed to quantify the effectiveness of hypnosis for reducing pain and identify factors that influence efficacy. Six major databases were systematically searched for trials comparing hypnotic inductions with no-intervention control conditions on pain ratings, threshold and tolerance using experimentally-evoked pain models in healthy participants. Eighty-five eligible studies (primarily crossover trials) were identified, consisting of 3632 participants (hypnosis nö=ö2892, control nö=ö2646). Random effects meta-analysis found analgesic effects of hypnosis for all pain outcomes (gö=ö0.54-0.76, p’s